True Colours
by dememiys
Summary: A new inkling moving to Inkopolis Square with a unique hair colour, things are bound to happen. Coming from Calamari County to the big city being introduced to the many wonders of being a young inkling with help from family and fellow inklings, how will this experience change him? (Summary is trash hehe)
1. Welcome to the Square

**This is my first fanfiction, I'm sorry if you don't really like it. This is a new thing to me and I came up with this on a whim and just wrote it down. Please review it, it would be greatly appreciated. :3**

* * *

"Byoki, don't worry. It's not weird… just… unique. You'll be fine."

"...Thanks… Bye."

* * *

"And that's all the time we've got! Until next time…" the voice echoed throughout Inkopolis Square. As many inklings stood staring at the large screen, various colours gleaming in the day, the duo exclaimed their signature catchphrase.

"Don't get cooked! Stay off the hook!" The excitement that left the bodies of the inklings watching as the monitor blanked to a different scene was a daily experience for many inklings as they moved on with their various lives.

...That is, if any of the inklings were actually paying attention to them, it would have been. A bright coloured inkling caught the eye of many other inklings as he walked past everyone in the Square. A normal inkling, with normal clothes, and normal hair. Although, with just one catch.

"That kid's hair, is it… it definitely is… never seen that before here…" As many murmurs could be heard around him, the bright hair colour of his always seemed to catch the eye of every inkling around. As he lifted his bags full of necessities and personal belongings, he looked upwards to see the sky as clear as any other day. The light shining onto him emphasized the colours he possessed. A bright white gleaming more than any other inkling around.

Looking around to find the apartment his family had bought for him from home, he trudged throughout the Square, trying his best to ignore the attention he was gathering just by being around.

* * *

Rushing around his apartment to pack everything, he glanced at the clock and stressed over his lack of time management and inability to navigate. He quickened his pace as a familiar voice slowly increased in volume in the hallway.

"Settled in yet, little bro?" The voice, now audible, came from Marie, a relieving face to see for Byoki as the one who actually knew how his colour came to be. She let herself in and waved at him with a tiny smile. Turning around to see her, he was amazed by how much she changed since he last saw her at their old hometown along with Callie before they left for their music career.

"Your fans didn't mow you down when you walked out of your home, Marie? The boy sarcastically said, still unpacking.

"Callie was able to hold them off for awhile. She should be here soon. Anyway, welcome to Inkopolis Square, Byoki."

"Did I hear my name?" another voice questioned as the other half to the famous duo came in. Callie walked in and waved at him, although he wasn't paying attention, leaving her with a sour mood. Worried after his incident back at home, they decided to take care of him and introduce him to the locals and familiarize him with the various places in the bustling center of Inkopolis.

"Thanks, you two. But I think I'm just gonna sleep in today after unpacking. The train ride took a lot out of me and I'd just like some rest." He said, remembering the embarrassment he felt during his walk through the city. As he turned around, he regretted his words as two concerned faces looked at him.

"Oh… alright…" Callie managed to mumble out as she looked down to the ground.

"Could we at least… help you unpack? We haven't seen each other since..." Marie was interrupted as they looked up to see him run up and hug them both together. Looking at each other, they smiled and hugged him back, forgetting the past for just a while longer.

"Alright! Let's do this! Callie exclaimed as she grabbed his belongings and started to arrange them all in an organized manner, as Marie cleaned everything up in the house that was still dirty. With both of them being blessed with their physical prowess during their days of splatfests. Byoki watched as his whole house came to life with every second they worked, watching in awe as he sighed with relief at how fast they were.

* * *

"And… done…" the pair managed to squeeze out of their throats as they flopped onto the couch in his now furnished living room with pants and gasps of air.

"Wow… you guys are amazing at whatever you do." The pair gave him a thumbs up as they tried to catch their breath. Coming back from the kitchen with some water, they thought to themselves, "He really is still the same as before."

They downed their drinks and got up from his couch, wanting him to go rest quickly for their plans tomorrow. He looked at them and thought of saying sorry for making them help him. The two looked back to see him looking down with a disdained look on his face. The two looked at each other and nodded, walking towards him and giving him a second hug.

"Don't worry about it, little bro. We're always there to help you." Marie said with Callie adding in on her sentence.

"Yeah! We're always there for you, Byoki."

"Thanks for helping out, and for being there for me." Byoki uttered through their strong hug as he let go of them and smiled, with a tiny "goodnight" following it.

The two replied appropriately and left to let him rest after his long day. "He's a lot cuter now, isn't he, Callie?" Marie mentioned to her as she turned around with a flustered look.

Byoki walked to his bedroom, exasperated and ready to sleep. Passing by the mirror, he looked at himself with numerous thoughts provoking his mind as he untied his pure white hair and jumped onto the bed. Emotions jabbed at him, all of them haunting him. But after seeing his sister and childhood friend and cousin again, he shrugged it off and called it a day. A good one, to be precise.

* * *

 **I'm sorry if this wasn't very good, this is my first time writing a fanfiction. Hopefully anyone could give feedback on this. Thank you. :3**


	2. The Comrade

**For those who said that this story was very similar to Pure White by Solace451, I'm sorry.**

 **As someone who didn't play the actual game (yet), I didn't know what inkling colours were not used. I also had no idea where to make Byoki come from, I was thinking of just naming it "The Countryside" but I thought it wouldn't make sense. As I said, I'm not a very good writer.**

 **If someone could provide insight on the unused ink colours in Splatoon, I'd really appreciate it and gladly change the story as required.**

 **Thank you for the reviews, they'll help me in the future. I really do appreciate you taking your time to write them. (** **, sorry for disappointing you or wasting your time ;-;)**

* * *

"Will he really be okay? I haven't seen him this sick before…"

"Don't worry, ma'am. We assure you, your son will be fine."

* * *

"You look… Uhmm.. awfully…" trying to find the right words to describe Byoki's… everything, Callie stood frozen in place as Marie took over.

"Awfully tired." As she shook her head to Callie, with her sticking her tongue out as a reply, Byoki wiped his face off with his palm as he looked around at the bright lights and cringed, slightly less with every glimpse. To introduce him around was already troublesome to Callie and Marie, he knew, but he couldn't get the image of his mother out of his mind after the night.

"Just a bad night, don't worry. I'm fine. Just a bit homesick." Reminding the two of Calamari County brought back some nostalgia of the three spending time together before they left to pursue their musical careers. Many, many images flipped through their mind as they walked towards the centre of Inkopolis Square to decide where to go. As they trudged through the many crowds of inklings, a distinct sound could be heard coming from Byoki's stomach, alerting the three as to where they should have gone to first.

* * *

"What up, squiddo? And ya got Callie and Marie with ya?" Crusty Sean, having moved from his shoe store, Shrimp Kicks, to the Crust Bucket in Inkopolis Square, was booming in business from inklings who needed an extra kick before they went for Turf Wars, often from what he would describe as "the freshest of the fresh". But to see Callie and Marie in Inkopolis Square, and of all places at his food truck, it brought a whole new meaning of "fresh" to him.

"We're just here to show this squid around, and we thought we'd come by here to get some food." Byoki looked away, embarrassed that he (or rather his stomach) made such a disturbing sound, in the middle of the city no less. But he couldn't deny the smell of the food coming out of the truck as the smell wafted around him, beckoning to be consumed.

"Well, what'll it be then?" Crusty Sean took note of Byoki's ability to hover, seemingly towards the truck.

"We'll have two Deep-Fried Shwaffes and-" as Callie tried to order something for Marie, she interrupted with an abrupt mention of "Super Seanwich", as Callie and Byoki sighed at her love for hot dog… things.

"Right up! Wait… you guys got no tickets? Sorry, but I can't give you your food without a ticket. No ticket, no order!" Byoki looked with a tear in his eye before looking over to Marie, who was crushed by the reminder of her lack of meal tickets. Callie, quickly thinking, sucked up to Crusty Sean for it.

"Come on… please? We'll… uh… sign your hat!" With the mention of a signature, Crusty Sean looked up, pushing his glasses with one of his ten limbs as they drooped down.

* * *

"I can't believe you would stoop that low for food!" Byoki screamed as he slowly ate his Schwaffle. Callie instantaneously pointed towards Marie, who wolfed down her Seanwich and burped before saying, "I can."

"Well, at least we're not hungry now like a certain someone was before we got here." The guilt got the better of Byoki as he apologized after having Callie eye him for his blame. At least it gave them time to think about the next place to visit. Clothes could be put on hold, having packed a few basic sets from home.

"Hey, Byoki. What do you think of Turf Wars?" Marie nonchalantly asked as she looked toward Callie and winked.

"Well, they're not really my type, but… I guess it would be fun to get some kind of money instead of mooching off of you guys all the time." The pair grinned as they grabbed his arm and raced for a certain Horseshoe Crab.

"Sheeeeeeeldooooooon!" a voice slowly increased in volume as the shelled creature turned around to see the Squid Sisters with an unknown figure being dragged by them. The two smashed through the doors as they threw Byoki onto the floor. Sheldon carefully jumped over the carcass on the floor, walking towards his old friends who he helped during a certain operation.

"What can I do for you two today? I've been working on a few new weapons like my new Dualie Squelchers and the rare Grizzco Blaster and-" Callie quickly shut him up before he bored the three of them to death, and quickly explained why they came.

"We just wanted to help the new kid get his own weapon before he tried out Turf Wars. Byoki, say hi to Sheldon." Looking up, he waved at the tiny crab and picked himself off the ground. Sheldon responded with a quick "hello" before rushing to his counter.

"Now, about the weapon, usually I'd ask for money, but this time I'll let you have it for free, seeing you're so close to my good friends here." Marie wheezed at the phrase before receiving a slap on the back from a Callie, who was visibly trying to hold back her laughter herself.

"Aaaand… here we go! A Splattershot Jr. Simple but effective, it'll get you through your first few levels before you get the tougher weapons! You should take it out for a spin before you go for your first Turf War. I'll show you to the Shooting Range!"

* * *

"I'm sorry about the clothes and… the hair, and... everything." Two adult inklings stood before Byoki, covered in foreign ink by their childhood friend. The innuendo made itself. But the look on Sheldon's face when he saw the havoc that Byoki created, fascination written all over as he looked to the beautiful sight. Although, the two beside him seemed to disagree as they stared in horror at the potential of their little one.

"Sheldon, I think we're just gonna go get some clothes for Byoki and ourselves."

"Thanks for the weapon though!"

* * *

Going through 3 clothing shops with 2 girls, women to be exact, while they were covered in ink and tired as hell was a recipe for disaster, and Byoki noticed it all too soon but was powerless against the two cousins who were already plotting their devious plan against Byoki.

The walk towards each of the stores was accompanied by both of them holding onto his arm similar to a lover, which appropriately annoyed passersby as they went around. Byoki could feel a chill go down his spine as he saw a group of guys stare him down. He could tell they were avoiding shops on purpose by going the longer routes toward them.

"Hey, Byoki, do I look good in this?"

No, me first!"

These 2 lines summed up the whole of the 3 clothing stores. Their voices clearly being heard from others as they walked by the store or were already looking at clothes inside was phase 2 of the plan, as he tried to judge both their clothes while picking out his own. He was too scared from the looks he was getting by others to pay attention to any kind of skills they had, and simply picked any he thought looked okay to him and ran, leaving Callie and Marie in the dust.

* * *

"Thanks for helping me with the introductions, guys. I'll keep the gun and clothes for now till I can get something better. I'll repay you guys soon. So… am I free to to go now?" Being stuck to the wall held just by some ink with two of the most popular inklings aiming right at your head with chargers was not something he put on his To-Do list. Apologies wouldn't work on them, as he inevitably accepted his fate.

"We're just joking, little bro. No need to be so afraid." Marie put down the charger as she went to help Byoki off the wall. Callie instinctively helped on the other side as she tried not to get Marie's ink on her.

"Yeah, it's all fun and games." Once he was let off the wall, he shrugged and tried to clear off any of Marie's ink in fear of any… "situations" being started. As he tried to whimper out a "thanks" to them, Callie slid up to his ear.

"But if you ever mess our clothes again, you won't be forgiven." The voice disrupted his train of thought as he jumped away from her. Callie inadvertently laughed as she tried to keep a serious tone with him, leading to him feeling like a gullible idiot. Marie remorsed with him as she pat him on the head while Callie continued her comedic thoughts.

A few seconds passed as Marie realized the time and grabbed onto Callie by the hoodie of her new jacket ad she apologized to Byoki. Callie could be seen waving her arms towards Byoki as she was dragged back to wherever Marie and her had to go. Shrugging it off as just business, Byoki walked into the shower to wash off the excess ink. To think that he could still have fun after looking back on what they did to him, he never understood it. He looked at his own hair, a similar colour to Marie yet for a whole different reason. White ink compared to his family's green to him was unique but… at the cost of a lot.

* * *

Hours passed after the shower and just like the last night, haunting nightmares everywhere around. Getting up to change into something lighter, he decided to go out on a run thinking it'd tire him out.

Getting a towel and some bottled water ready in a bag slung to his back, he opened the door and appropriately locked it before going to traverse the area, by himself for a change.

* * *

"Hehehe, this'll feed me for awhile… Gotta run now though, before they catch me. Suckers won't know what hit 'em." A voice grumbled in an alleyway as a figure jumped out a window, hands full with items of high value. Running and covering her head and face with a hood, she tried to run out of the alleyway, only to be hit by a stranger running around at night.

The impact uncovered the figure's hood, revealing her face and thereby gender and race to the stranger. They both stared at each other for awhile before she started bawling her eyes out on the spot. Startled by the sudden outburst, the stranger quickly pulled off their unused towel and gave it to her, calming the unhooded girl down.

"Hey, are you okay? My name's Byoki. What's yours?"

* * *

 **I hope the chapter wasn't too bad or felt as copied this time. As mentioned above, sorry if the story feels like a copy and I thank the two who reviewed the story and brought this to me.**

 **As I am getting a Switch soon, hopefully I will be able to learn more about how the game works and improve on the stories.**

 **Thank you for taking the time to read my story ;3**


	3. Getting Used to It

**Thank you to those who have read the stories so far, it's nice to know some people are looking at it.**

 **.1: Thank you for the information, it completely went over my head that Callie was a roller main. (I'll just say that she used it as a one-time thing for Byoki 'cuz Family ;3)**

 **Eiwinskaller's Abomination: Which part made you think of Chiro? (Other than the white hair which I explained in the last chapter.) Byoki is japanese for another word (which you can check yourself), same goes for the new character.**

 **Thank you for the reviews, and enjoy the rest of the story. :D**

* * *

"Ki…" the girl muttered as she clutched the towel in her hand before stopping and looking up to see the white hair of Byoki's droop down into her eyesight. Blindsided by the unique hair colour, she approached him and tried to feel his hair, seeing if it was simply her eyes. True enough, she took a few steps backward and let out a tiny apology.

"Sorry… My name is Ki… Kiseki…" She said in a slightly higher pitch, now regaining her composure and looked straight to him. Byoki, offering his hand, asked, "Well, your leg is injured. Do you need help? I can carry you, if you want me to. We can drop by my house first so you can recuperate." Kiseki looked away, blushing at his offer to carry someone he barely knew, to his own house no less. She reached out to him, and followed as he walked.

"Uhmm… are you cold? Those rags don't look very good for your health." As he tried to reach for her forehead to feel any signs of a fever, she recoiled back in response.

"Sorry… I'm not very used to inkling contact." She stopped herself from saying any more, fearing she would tear up. Byoki looked back to see her close her eyes and plant her face into the towel, laying on his back. Byoki brushed it off, but still blushed slightly by the seemingly close contact of a girl inkling who wasn't related to him, despite being indirect.

* * *

"Here, have some coffee. It'll warm you up." Kiseki, reluctant to drink from the cup, reached for it before recoiling and questioning him by saying " Hey… Why are you so nice to me? Don't you know what I was doing there in the alley?" Byoki, dumbfounded by what she was trying to imply, placed the cup on the coffee table and sat down next to her, which she replied with a small blush and a slight shift away from him.

"I'm… a thief, okay? I was stealing from someone's house when I ran into you. You shouldn't trust me." Tears started forming in her eyes as she looked away from him, still cold. Byoki looked at her and simply smiled.

"So what?" Kiseki turned to look at him again, now noticing his smile and feeling a rush in her head, as the thought "cute" went by, causing her to blush. "Drink your coffee, I'll feel safer if you do," giggling as he turned back to his television set in front of them, before realizing it was a blank screen. Turning it on, it showed some of the highlights from the day's Turf Wars.

The sound of the television helped Kiseki to gather her thoughts as she grabbed the cup of joe and slowly sipped away, feeling warmth for once rather than despair. (And the cold, too.)

* * *

A few minutes passed by as they watched the highlight reel together. Kiseki, bothered by the silence, finished her coffee before saying, "So… what're you gonna do about me now?" Kiseki turned to him as she saw his eyes intently looking at the inklings performing before turning to look at her.

"Well… you can stay here for awhile if you want." The mention of her staying flustered her as she popped her head up, causing her long hair to flop up and down. The reaction made Byoki giggle as she looked away, embarrassed.

"Are you… sure about that? What if someone catches me here that recognizes me? Won't you be in trouble?" Kiseki wondered why she cared so much for a stranger she didn't know. She knew she didn't deserve such kindness.

"I don't mind. I can't let a girl just go out and steal to live. We all deserve a nice life here." Kiseki started to cry as she walked up to him and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Th… Thank you…" sniffling as she tried to word out her feelings. He hugged her back and pulled her closer, able to tell that she went through a lot.

* * *

"Get out! You're useless! Can't even sell some stupid sea snails!"

"No one will ever want you in their household."

"Stop coming to us from now on. You're not welcome."

* * *

Kiseki, sleeping in Byoki's bed as he slept on the couch in the living room, struggled to see why he let her into his house, even after learning her backstory. Looking in the mirror of his room, she never thought she would have seen herself wearing clean (though male) clothes and without dirt splotches all over her hair and skin. Although it felt weird to shower in someone else's house, it was… calming.

" _Should I really stay? I'll feel worse if he gets caught because I stayed here…"_ Worrying for another person was weird for her to feel. What if he got caught housing a thief? What if he reported her to the authorities? _"No, no, he wouldn't. I should trust him if I'm going to stay here."_

Closing her eyes to go back to sleep, she looked back at the mirror to see herself smiling for once.

* * *

"Kiseki… wake up. There's something you should see." Opening up her eyes as she blocked the light with her hand, she looked up to see Byoki sitting on the bed trying to wake her up.

"AH! Oh, h-hi Byoki." Trying to laugh off her sudden reaction as she jumped off the bed, Byoki simply looked and giggled as he told her to follow.

"I bought a few things for you while you were sleeping. Here, you can change into them in the room. I'll go outside and rest awhile." With a few sighs of exhaustion, he walked out and closed the door, with the sound of him falling into the couch sounding through it. Opening up the package, she was amazed by the amount of clothes he managed to get. And a bag with… a weapon? Weird, but… she was still mesmerized by clothes he managed to get. Picking out some clothes to wear, she looked back at the door making sure it was locked before she started to change.

* * *

"Byoki? I'm coming out now." The creak of the door awoke the boy from his sleep as he slung himself over the couch to look back at her, she was wearing the clothes better than he expected as he whispered out a small "wow". Kiseki noticed, blushing slightly more than she was before as she walked out.

"Does it… look okay?" A shirt with a blue hoodie paired with black loafers and long black socks matched together well for her short, light blue hair. The slight blush on her cheeks was unseen by Byoki as he looked away, a shade of red on his face.

"Y-yeah. It looks good on you. Very cute." Both looked away as they shared an awkward silence together.

Until it was broken by Marie, who barged in on them as they turned to see her.

"Hey~... What are the two lovebirds doing in here?" Covering her grin with her gloved hand, she walked over to Byoki to slap him on the back, congratulating him for "making so much progress". Of course, she didn't realize the flustered look he had on him as he looked towards Kiseki apologetically. To his surprise, her eyes opened wide as she looked at Marie, accompanied by a gasping sound.

"Holy carp! You know Marie? I've seen you on the big screens before, and even Pearl and Marina have mentioned you! You're so cool and awesome! How come you're here with Byoki!?" Kiseki questioned as she fangirled to Marie before retracting herself and giving Marie some space. Byoki himself looked confused as she continued to stare in amazement, signalling Marie to answer quick before she got saddened by her lack of answer.

"Byoki's my little brother. When he came to the big city, I just wanted to meet him. Actually, I wanted to talk to you about that, Byoki." The confused look transferred to Kiseki as they both looked at Marie, waiting for her to continue.

"Me and Callie are already leaving for Inkopolis Plaza again. I just came here to say goodbye. At least I know you've got someone to take care of you now. Thanks, by the way, Kiseki. Byoki told me a bit about you." She looked at him, scared but thankful she trusted Byoki to her. Byoki, on the other hand, looked depressed over the fact that his only family was leaving again.

"Will you be back? I already miss mom, I feel like after seeing you two, I'll miss everyone more." He looked up to her as she patted his head, messing his hair up slightly. Kiseki looked slightly jealous.

"Don't worry. We'll try to stay in contact. If we can't, we'll try to come visit or tour here." Marie looked at the clock and hurried over to the door.

"Gotta go now, Callie's waiting at the bus. Bye, Byoki! We'll talk later, don't worry." She looked back to wave at the two, now standing together waving back. As she was closing the door, Marie called out to them.

"But don't go stealing anymore, Kiseki. Byoki will take care of you from now on." Kiseki looked forward, relieved that Marie trusted her, but worried that one of the most famous inklings ever knew about her secret. Byoki looked at her, realizing her fear and whispered to her.

"It's okay, she won't tell anyone. She has quite a few secrets herself." The sudden closing-up of the two of them scared Kiseki as she jumped away, with the sound of the door closing ending the moment for the two.

" _He's finally grown up, that Byoki. I told you, mom."_ Marie grinned as she walked down the hallway to the exit.

* * *

"Here, eat up." Byoki laid down a plate on the table as Kiseki's gaze affixed on the plate. The food wasn't extravagant, but to someone who stole to eat, it looked like a delicacy. She instantly digged in as Byoki went to grab a bite of his food.

"Is there any more?" Kiseki looked over to his plate and back at him as he gave her an 'ok' sign. Finishing half the plate, she thought to herself, _"Wait, I can't do this. This is rude, isn't it? Carp, I'll give it back."_ She slid the plate back over to him.

"Sorry… I'm just hungry. I haven't eaten in awhile… I know it was rude, just… sorry." Her insecurities showed clearly as she tried to apologize to him. He found it cute, but… he couldn't let her starve.

"I'll go make some more. I don't mind. You should eat more, I can survive on less food. Sorry my cooking's not that good, though." She looked up to him as he smiled and walked back to the kitchen. Her insecure character she got during her stealing phase was slowly healing thanks to Byoki. She could see it well.

"Thank you!" Shouting out to him, he replied with a thumbs up as he went forward.

* * *

"Okay, maybe eating so much wasn't a good idea." She looked from the bed she was lying down on after her apparent stomachache. Feeling bloated, she decided to lie down and got stuck as Byoki came in a glass of water for himself and her. Sitting down on a chair next to the bed, he offered her the cup as she gleefully took it with a smile.

"Thanks, and sorry. I should probably hold off on the food for now." He took note of how much she apologized and replied.

"Don't worry, I don't mind taking care of you. You're a nice person." She looked back and, although slightly shy, smiled and drank from the cup. He realized now was a good time to ask her.

"Hey, Kiseki?" Catching her attention as she looked up, he continued, "It was actually really cold outside when I was sleeping on the couch. So… is it fine if I move back into my bed?" She didn't understand the question until she took a good look.

It was a bed. A really big bed. For two.

"W-w-w-what?" He looked at her face, covered in a deep shade of red.

"Y-y-yeah, what am I saying? It's weird, I shouldn't have asked. Let's just forget I asked that." He couldn't look at her in the eye as he turned away, embarrassed by what he said. Kiseki now looked worried and like a total idiot for making him feel bad.

"A-actually… it's fine. I don't m-mind." Clearly stuttering as she speaked, Byoki looked at her with a scared look.

"Are you sure? I don't have to, if it makes you feel weird."

"No, no, it's fine. I really don't mind."

The two looked at each other, not breaking eye contact.

"Alright, I'll move a pillow in, but we'll have to… share blankets…" She looked down and, while worried that she would do something… inappropriate to him in his sleep, agreed with a nod. Byoki looked happy that she trusted him not to do anything to her in her sleep.

"Alright. You go rest, I'll go buy some more ingredients for food tomorrow. We ran through a lot of them today." Kiseki looked down, embarrassed.

"Good… goodnight." Byoki closed the door, letting Kiseki finally release her pent up embarrassment. She slammed her head down into her pillow as she sighed with relief that he was finally out. She could deal with a little less of red on her face for the day. Closing her eyes, she finally rested peacefully, with no worries in the world.

"...Thank you."

* * *

 **Thanks for reading again, sorry that it took awhile to update. With exams coming soon, it's not as easy to write as before. Hopefully I'll be able to continue to write well during the exams.**

 **As always, reviews always help. Thank you for them, they really do give me some more inspiration to write.**

 **(Also, I'll only reply to reviews by non-guests, so that I actually have a name. Sorry :P)**

 **Thank you for reading, yet again, and I'll continue on the next chapter soon. :D**


	4. Sickness Struck

Sorry **for the delay in the story, exams were on and I was feeling a little stressed from it. OwO**

 **Hopefully now this chapter can cover the 1 week that I didn't write and I'll be able to continue writing after it. Thank you for reading if you have been, and enjoy the story. :D**

* * *

"Those two look like a cute couple there. Look, they're blushing." A small figure looked down on the two inklings that walked together through Inkopolis Square.

"We shouldn't do this, let's go back to the studio now…" A slightly (or significantly) taller figure looked down to her tiny friend as they started to get up from the side of the building and walk back to the bottom level. The two being stared at from the top, still walking as a pair, continued to their destination, oblivious that they were being watched from above.

* * *

"Hmmm… mmm…" Kiseki tried to sound out her embarrassment to Byoki as they walked hand in hand to a small cafe that Byoki heard of from Marie, who enjoyed the quiet inside while she savoured her daily morning coffee. While he looked back to the conversation he had with Marie about the cafe, Kiseki was now visibly struggling to keep herself up from walking, crossing her legs to show a sign of weakness.

"B-byoki… I don't think the hand-holding idea was… a good one… T-This is weird…" Byoki looked to her as he blushed himself from her embarrassed face, holding back his urge to giggle. Kiseki made eye contact with him and immediately looked away, unable to hold back her shyness as she pouted.

"Hey, you suggested the idea. I won't go back on my word." He slightly cringed from his phrase as he looked back to her, seeing that she calmed down slightly. Relieved, they continued to the cafe, slightly more comfortable with each other. Of course, Kiseki still looked to him when she could, thinking about him more often than anyone else. The feeling of being welcome still confused her, but when she was with Byoki, she felt… free.

* * *

"Can I have an espresso, then?" Byoki asked with a confused look on his face. As someone who didn't really drink coffee, the whole place was overwhelmingly new to him. Kiseki hid behind him as he walked up to the counter while looking at what was available. While she was eyeing the menu, Byoki was struggling as no one else was ordering, leaving him at the front of the line with no one else to help. He didn't expect Kiseki to be able to help him due to her past and asked for something random. As he was about to pay, Kiseki grabbed onto his arm and tried to catch his attention, ignoring her shy behaviour.

"Byoki, can I have a frappe? Please? It says it's sweet, I think it'll be nice. Please, buy it for me?" Kiseki looked to him as she tried her best to make puppy eyes at him. The cuteness overwhelmed him as he blinked and nodded before turning away. At the corner of his eye, he saw her start to smile brightly, like a child inkling getting their human shape. He didn't realize the bright shade of red forming over his face as he looked back to the cashier, asking for one more frappe. But when he tried, the cashier grinned at him with a sinister look, which he took as hostility. As he told Kiseki to go find a pair of seats for the both of them, the cashier leaned into his ear.

"A date, huh? You're doing good." Byoki, feeling the breath of the female cashier on his ear, turned around and frantically cleared up her misunderstanding.

"N-no, no, we're just friends." When he tried to say it, it left a sour taste in his mouth as he looked back to her.

"Listen, it's pretty obvious you like her. Am I right?" The cashier gave him a smirk as he succumbed to her suspicions with a look to the floor and a nod accompanying it. She replied with a giggle and walked away to get his drinks. Looking at the counter, a number was left on the counter for him to know when his drink was ready. As he grabbed it, he turned the paper around to see there was a note on the back which said "Good luck".

He shoved the number into his pocket as he walked around to find Kiseki. After a few seconds of walking, he felt a hand grab onto his jacket as he turned around to check who it was. There stood Kiseki, hiding her shyness as she tried to word out what she was trying to do.

"I-I… I couldn't find a seat and got scared. People were looking, and I tried to find you… S-sorry, Byoki…" Kiseki fidgeted as she let go of his jacket, allowing Byoki to pat her head as he grabbed her hand to find a table with her. The sudden contact alerted Kiseki, with fumes rising out of her head while her face turned a full red. The nonchalant way he grabbed onto her hand made her feel embarrassed, but happy.

They scurried around the cafe finding a seat. Kiseki hid behind him as usual while clinging onto him. Byoki noticed that most of the people here were on their phones or laptops, keeping quiet as they typed away with bored looks on their faces. The sounds of their footsteps seemed to annoy the customers, as he started walking softer, as if tiptoeing. They heard the door open, signalling them that people were leaving and that a table was free.

"There, that table's free, Byoki." Kiseki popped out behind him to go to his side as they both went to the table. Sitting down opposite of each other made Kiseki feel slightly insecure, but ignored it as she looked to the floor. The two of them didn't have much to talk about but had much to think about the other. Byoki noticed her looking down and decided to start the conversation.

"Hey, do you remember when I bought you those clothes? Did you check the other bag?" Kiseki looked back to when she was at his house changing, and remembered the events that followed. This alone made her blush, more so when she realized that she was still wearing the clothes at the moment. Coming back to her senses, she looked past that and remembers the weapon that was in the bag.

"Yeah, I did. It was some kind of weapon or something? Wait… are you trying to make me do something?" Byoki looked up and saw her creeped out face as he tried to explain what it was for.

"N-no, no! That's not it, just…" He looked downwards, afraid to ask his question. Kiseki stared at the top of his head as he thought hard on his next sentence.

"Would you join me for Turf Wars?" With a slightly shaky voice, he managed to word it out as Kiseki walked next to him and tried to raise his head up, a surprised look on her face. That he would ask someone like her, a thief, someone new to him, to play a team game and even give her a weapon. She was unable to fathom how he was such a nice person, and it pulled a heartstring, if she was being honest with herself.

"S-sure." That one word took all her courage as he raised his head to see if her face was in direct proportion to her answer. Her face had uncertainty written on it, but she still looked like she was willing to give it a shot. Giving her a smile, the sound of a tiny bell rang through the cafe. Alerting him to get their coffee, he stood up and let Kiseki sit down at his seat while he walked to the counter.

"I'll g-go get the drinks now." He stuttered, his mind full of Kiseki at the moment due to how close she was to him. He was sure he caught a whiff of how her hair smelled, and couldn't stop thinking about it. He tried to shake it off when he took the drinks for the two of them from the counter after thanking the cashier again, to no avail. He simply prayed that he would still be able to focus on their conversations together.

* * *

"I told you, I'm fine Kiseki. D-don't worry about me." The time passed by with Kiseki slowly getting more worried since they drank their coffee at the cafe. With her only trying to help more, he was brought back to their home with an increasingly scared Kiseki trying to take care of him.

"No, no. You were looking so sick at the cafe! You were sweating and you couldn't even hold your drink properly. When we talked you took, like, 10 seconds to reply! You just stood there staring at me every time and then looked away." Kiseki frantically rushed around the house, trying to make him feel comfortable and rest after his predicament. While Byoki was enjoying it slightly, he felt bad and tried to get her to stop. Of course, he couldn't do anything and simply tried to get her to calm down.

"Alright alright, I had… Uhmm… A fever! Yeah, and I was… just trying to enjoy some time with you. So, uh… Sorry or making you worry?" He tried his best to come up with his story as she sat down next to him, passing him a cup of water.

"R-really? Why'd you do that? You should try and rest at home next time, if not I won't be able to enjoy myself at all." Byoki started to feel worse for making her worry and put the cup down on the table next to his bed. He leaned in with his arms out and gave her a hug, pulling her down to the bed.

"Well, you can relax now. I'm fine, alright?" While furiously blushing, she couldn't deny that she was relieved and let Byoki have his fun as he slowly fell asleep. He was tired enough to think he was actually sick, and within minutes was snoring. Kiseki looked at his sleeping face, relieved that he was finally resting. She felt bad after making him do so much for her while he was sick (or seemed to be).

In the corner of the room, she noticed her and Byoki's weapons laying together on the table. Looking back on their conversation in the cafe, she was still worried about how she would perform after seeing how others played. Fearing she would let him down, she walked towards the bed and climbed into it calmly, and stared at his sleeping face. Wondering how he could have trusted her, she thought she would never understand. She turned around and proceeded to sleep herself.

* * *

It was 7PM, only 4 hours after the two slept with Byoki waking up with a terrible feeling in his stomach. And everywhere else.

Turning to get up, he saw Kiseki laying next to him and jumped out of the bed, surprising himself as he did it. He walked outside after gathering his thoughts and almost fell down. Something wasn't right, and he obviously could tell. He hadn't felt this sick since years before coming to Inkopolis Square.

Grabbing a thermometer that was kept in his room, he took his own temperature and awaited the beep that accompanied it. He made use of the time to look at Kiseki, realizing she was fast asleep, like she was more exhausted than he was. Before he was able to think too much into it, the beep sounded as he looked to the temperature written on the device.

The numbers written signalled him to get some medicine for himself and possibly Kiseki as she soundly slept on the bed the sick boy had most likely infected. The temperature showed him that he miraculously caught a fever. He felt more like Kiseki now, worrying about her more than before.

The sounds of him running around woke Kiseki up as she sat upwards to see him running around. She tried to call out to him, but was surprised by how she was unable to voice out what she wanted to say properly. The fever definitely went to her, as she realized she didn't think out her rest well enough, to sleep next to a sick person so calmly. As Byoki walked back into the room, he saw as Kiseki looked to him and realized she looked way worse than him, with a sniffle, sneeze and a cough every few seconds.

"Sorry… I got you sick…" He went to the chair beside the bed and placed the medicine, preparing it for her. As someone who was sick for a long time, seeing others sick was like a curse to him and he never wished it upon someone else, no matter the severity. The liquid medicine was poured into a spoon as he signalled for her to open her mouth, which obviously made her blush. To be fed by Byoki, even though it was medicine, was a weird feeling as she opened up.

The bitterness made her cringe as she took the cup of water he had in his other hand and chugged it down. As someone who loved sweets, which showed from her order for a frappe, bitterness made her feel disgusted every time she tasted it. Of course, she had to deal with it as she lied back down to try and rest her body more.

She looked to Byoki, realizing that he was using the same spoon as her to take his medicine.

" _I-I-Indirect k-kiss…"_ She thought to herself as he swallowed down the medicine, which made the red on her face thicken as she went to turn to the side opposite of Byoki so he wouldn't see her embarrassed face that he'd already seen so many times.

"Hey, Kiseki?" She struggled to turn around but managed to muster up the strength as Byoki gazed at her.

"When we get better, let's go get started on the Turf Wars." He smiled to her, which made her reply with a gleeful grin and a "mmhmm" sound, signifying a yes.

"Alright, then let's just… get some rest now." After sleeping together for 2 times, they were still slightly shy about it but allowed it to happen as they both slowly closed their eyes and relaxed themselves. While Byoki fell asleep fast, Kiseki looked back at him.

 _"Maybe I'll ask him about his ink colour tomorrow…"_ She thought as she slowly drifted off to sleep.

* * *

 **Sorry if the story feels like it's lacking, the exams have got me tired out. Now that they've ended, I'll take some more time to think about what to do and write it out soon, Thank you again for reading, and the next chapter is coming soon. 3**


	5. Turf War

**I am really sorry for not updating this story that much, but I had almost no inspiration to write up to this point. I'll try to keep myself motivated to write this, but if at some point it takes me awhile to update the story, I am truly sorry.**

 **On the bright side, I've finally gotten a Switch and Splatoon 2, so hopefully I'll have a better insight on what and how to write this story. Feel free to add me, too.**

 **With that out of the way, here's Chapter 5 of True Colours.**

* * *

"They're entering now, keep watch on them." With the handheld transceiver being turned off, the short inkling sat back down onto the edge of the building as she looked to the pair that walked towards the giant tower.

"You couldn't pick a better way to let them know about their destiny?" The taller inkling looked around worriedly as she whispered to her tiny friend.

"They'll find out soon enough, anyway. Might as well prepare them before the war begins." The two stood up and walked to the staircase leading down.

"Octavio's done it now."

* * *

"Alright, breathe in, breathe out…" Byoki murmured while he looked to the Battle Lobby, with the Great Zapfish curled around it after suspiciously disappearing for a few weeks. Today was the start of his and Kiseki's turf war career, and he couldn't have been more excited. That is, if he wasn't shaking from nervousness as he held onto Kiseki's hand, who was just as uneasy.

"Let's g-go in, then," signalled Byoki who led Kiseki to the inside of the lobby. The enclosed area made Kiseki feel queasy as she looked around the brightly coloured room. Byoki walked towards a small console located in the middle of the room. There, a selection of game modes was available for him and Kiseki to play.

"Err... I guess we'll just go for Regular Battle?" As he touched the screen, the button lit up, with a door to a separate room that had another 2 inklings that looked like a couple. Byoki called for Kiseki, who was still gazing around at the lights. She ran up behind him as they both walked to the inner room.

"Oh, more people are here!" The female inkling of the pair ran up to Byoki and Kiseki as she grabbed onto both of their hands and put them together. Surprising Byoki, he started to blush while Kiseki was simply confused.

"Hey, are you guys new? You're level 1 and everything, and you're both using a Splattershot Jr. and, wait, are you two a couple? You two look really cute together!" The amount of text going through both their heads took awhile for them to process, while the energetic girl continued to babble on about the two of them.

"Oh! Sorry, I haven't even introduced me and my buddy here! I'm Hageshi, and this here is Shizuka!" The boy inkling looked up from his phone, waving at the group with a "hi" and a small smile. Hageshi giggled.

"Hehe, sorry about him. He can be a bit unenergetic. But you guys should come sit down! We're just waiting for people to join so we can start the match." Hageshi grabbed both of their arms and walked towards the 4 couches which were laid in a square position, with a table in the middle. Each couch held about 2 people, but could squeeze in 1 or 2 more.

Byoki and Kiseki sat at the couch beside the other pair's, as Kiseki sat further away from them, showing her shyness. Hageshi smiled to her, which caused a small red to slowly appear on her face.

"Umm… well… I'm Byoki, and this is Kiseki." Both of them being shy, they were unable to start a conversation with Hageshi, who proceeded to take the lead.

"So, about my question. Are you two actually dating?" Hageshi's eyes lighted up from how the pair in front of her reacted to her question. Byoki, flustered, jumped up from her words while Kiseki looked down, hiding her embarrassment as she tugged on Byoki's shirt, telling him to sit back down.

"N-no, we're not dating. We're just… friends. Yeah." Kiseki looked back down after her statement, as if sad from what she said. Byoki noticed it, but brushed it off as her still being slightly embarrassed and answered with a question for Hageshi and Shizuka.

"What about you two? You guys look like a couple, too." Hageshi was slightly flustered, unable to reply properly.

"W-well, not really.. We j-just started out, and it's k-kinda slow…" Her words slowly drifted off as Shizuka sighed.

"You always talk about others being couples, but get all shy as soon as they ask about us." He shook his head and proceeded patting Hageshi on the head, slowly smiling.

"Sorry about her. But you two do look like you would be a cute couple. Why not?" Byoki looked up, pondering it himself. After a few seconds, he looked back up to Shizuka and answered.

"Well, we kinda just met only a while ago, and… I'm not really ready for that kinda stuff." He smiled saying it, while Kiseki pouted behind him. Shizuka glanced at her pouting face and looked back at him, smirking and walking back to his seat next to Hageshi, who was looking down embarrassed.

Before Shizuka got to speak, a group of four joined the lobby, signifying the start of the game. He waved at the now enemy team as he walked up to Hageshi and brought her up to stand, with her smiling and blushing as a response. Byoki and Kiseki followed them, as the 8 inklings walked to a pathway that had opened up, with the label "Starfish Mainstage" above it. Two grates for both teams were in front of the two teams. Both looked at each other, wishing a good luck before entering their team grates.

Before Byoki could jump into the grate, Kiseki grabbed onto his arm, and shifted her eyes to the side, unable to look him in the eyes. She mustered up enough courage to finally speak.

"I'm… not very confident in this. Should we really do it?" Kiseki closed her eyes, as if scared that she would get scolded. Due to her tough life, she was never allowed to refuse or choose. This all added to her surprise when she felt a hand softly pat her hair, which caused her to quickly look up to Byoki, with his hand caressing the top of her head.

"Don't worry. Although I'm not very confident either, as long as we play, we'll slowly improve. Let's try our best. This'll be good training!" Byoki enthusiastically said to her, smiling while he grabbed onto her hand. Kiseki slightly jumped from the interaction but agreed and walked with him to the grate.

* * *

"Ah, you two are here. Now we can get this started!" Hageshi raised her hand in the air, while Shizuka waved to the enemy team signalling that everyone was ready. Kiseki glanced at Byoki, who was looking forward, eager to start the turf war, looking like a fire had started in him. Kiseki looked back to the front, and started to feel the same as Judd used his flags to signal that the game was about to start.

With a wave of the flag, the teams started to run out while shooting ink. Byoki started to cover the surrounding area before being interrupted by Shizuka.

"Hey, Byoki! You don't need to cover every bit, just run through and shoot your ink in the general area!" Shizuka shouted as he rushed to the mainline with his Krak-On Splat Roller. Kiseki, in audible range, took note as she continued to run through shooting before her gun suddenly stopped.

"Kiseki! Go into squid form in your ink to refill your ammo!" Hageshi shouted to her while she took aim with her E-liter 4K Scope. Kiseki quickly ran to her ink puddle and refilled her ammo before continuing her move to the front.

Before Byoki could realize, an enemy inkling with a pair of Dapple Dualies rolled in front of him, ready to shoot. Byoki instinctively shot in front of him with his Splattershot Jr. and, to his surprise, managed to splat the enemy. The rush of energy he felt while he went ahead to the middle of the map mixed with the support of his teammates brought him to slowly feel more love for the game.

Kiseki continued to try her best to cover the most turf, while Byoki was able to more efficiently splat the enemies. The time passed by till the timer hit 1:00, where the music playing in the background changed, allowing Byoki and Kiseki to bring out their all in the last minute.

"...3! 2! 1!" The sound of a whistle alerted both teams to stop as everyone Byoki and Kiseki cheered, walking back to both Hageshi and Shizuka. Hageshi waved at the two of them while Shizuka smiled, impressed by their performance. As they got together, Hageshi went in for a hug with Kiseki while Shizuka grabbed Byoki's shoulder.

"Well done, Byoki. You did pretty well for your first time." Byoki smiled while panting, tired from all the running he did. Kiseki, still stuck in Hageshi's embrace, tried to escape from the prison before she died from suffocation. Hageshi brought Kiseki up for a few jumps in the air, which made Kiseki feel uneasy as she patted Hageshi's back, signalling her to stop. Hageshi complied, letting her down as she congratulated with Shizuka on the two's performance that they considered outstanding.

Judd and Li'l Judd danced before revealing that Byoki's team had won, with a total of 72% turf inked. With the scoreboard being shown, Byoki had splatted 9 enemies and was 3rd in terms of ink turfed, while Kiseki was on the top of the scoreboard with 2 enemies splatted. The reveal shocked the both of them as they cheered for each other, while Hageshi and Shizuka looked at the pair who were jumping with joy from their performance, smiling while Hageshi leaned onto Shizuka.

"Bye, you two!" Hageshi waved to Byoki and Kiseki as they waved back, before turning around and walking together with Shizuka in the other direction.

* * *

"Well, we did pretty good, didn't we?" Byoki looked to Kiseki, who was still nauseous from Hageshi's hugging and jumping as she nodded her head. Byoki laughed as they both walked back to their apartment home. The thought of them walking together to their own home, almost like a couple, made Kiseki uneasy while she was unable to walk properly. Byoki worriedly looked at her and grabbed her hand, shocking Kiseki while she stumbled once more as Byoki pulled her closer to him.

"You looked kinda uneasy, so… I don't want you to fall or anything." Byoki looked away as his grip slowly loosened. Kiseki, although still surprised, moved closer to Byoki, almost hugging him and tightened her grip on his hand. Byoki's eyes lighted up as his smile slowly returned while gazing at her.

Both walked together for awhile, unable to talk while Byoki enjoyed the moment. The silence let Kiseki think as a question suddenly popped into her head. She looked up to Byoki, wondering if he would mind.

"Hey, Byoki…" Catching his attention, Kiseki stared at him for a few seconds before she worded out her question.

"I've been meaning to ask you this for awhile, but… how did you get your white hair?"

* * *

 **Again, I'm very sorry for not updating this story in such a long time. Hopefully this chapter can make up for it and I'll try my best to keep motivated to write.**

 **Thank you for reading as always ;3**


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